Iowa’s Minimum Wage Debate

Yesterday I wrote about Iowa's legislature's opposition to endorse an increase in the minimum wage.

Now comes the news that the state's congress wants to enact a law that makes the minimum wage set to a state-wide standard.

This move would effectively roll back the minimum wage increases in at least four Iowa counties including Johnson and Linn counties.

According to the Gazette, “This bill creates certainty, predictability and consistency as a cornerstone to this legislation,” said Sen. Randy Feenstra, R-Hull, who served as floor manager of House File 295.

On the other side of the aisle, Sen. Joe Bolkcom, D-Iowa City, called the reasons “extraordinarily lame”.

Bottom line: both parties have a valid point.

In my opinion the government shouldn't need to regulate the minimum wage. In a free market economy, supply and demand should be enough to dictate what is a fair wage. But in tough economic times cheap labor gets cheaper, and it's no secret that in times like these, it's low income workers who suffer the most.